ANDREW BIAR: Upward mobility lies with individual choices

Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, December 12, 2013

I believe the glass is half full. Regardless of how bad things are, there is still the other half representing opportunity. Unfortunately, we are bombarded by the messaging of the glass is half empty crowd. These are the same people, who for political gain, blame capitalism for income inequality. These are the egalitarians. To say that I vehemently disagree with their point of view would be largely understated. Capitalism does not cause income inequality. People’s choices cause income inequality.

Should we as a society do everything we can, as private citizens and as business leaders, to help people better themselves? Yes, it is our responsibility. However, it is not the job of the government to choose who sits on which end of the income inequality bench. Government has attempted to do this and has failed miserably. It is redistribution of wealth, and that is morally wrong. In the process of redistributing wealth, the government — which is us — has spent trillions of your dollars to establish onerous regulations, implement failed and destructive tax structures and erect volumes of barriers that stifle the economic freedom the Founding Fathers envisioned and diligently and deliberatively constructed for a free and successful society.

It must be noted that income inequality has not changed much in the U.S. In a piece by noted liberal G. William Domhoff, “Wealth, Income and Power”, we see that from 1922-2010, those in the top 1 percent and bottom 99 percent has varied by some degree, but not dramatically.

For leaders to focus on income inequality is irresponsible, negative, and divisive. This pits people against each other, creating envy and antagonism. If we want to change things and break the cycle of income inequality, there are opportunities. But, we must choose to work hard to make that change. Demonizing those who produce and succeed is destructive.

The great hope about America is that we are not restricted to our station in life. This is indisputable. Contrary to what egalitarians say, one is not stuck at the bottom of the income equality scale. There are numerous examples of those who were born into families with nothing and despite that, they made their life better. Many of them have shaped our country and created businesses that have provided opportunities for hundreds of thousands of others to succeed.

Ursula Burns went from intern to chairman and CEO of Xerox. She grew up in what was a gang-infested housing project in New York. Another person who decided to make their life better is John Paul Dejoria, the founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems. He lived in a foster home and was a gang member in Los Angeles. It should be noted that Dejoria had a hand in establishing Patron Tequila. For those of us who enjoy tequila we should be forever grateful that he chose to change his life.

When you get your Starbucks fix, you do so because Howard Schultz led the company to greatness. He grew up in the poor part of Brooklyn. In his pursuit of a better life, he made ours better. Finally, there is David Green who grew Hobby Lobby from a small retail outlet to a 435 store business. Green grew up poor in rural Oklahoma. He and his brothers slept on rollaway beds in their kitchen. In addition to the thousands of people his company employs, it is estimated by Forbes that he has given $500 million to charity.

What government needs to do is get out of the way and allow people who chooe to succeed to do so. The egalitarian way has been tried and failed. Look at Cuba. Confiscating from those who have to redistribute simply restricts opportunities for those on the low end of the income inequality scale.

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The Founding Fathers knew that economic freedom was the best avenue to making a better life. Does the Boston Tea Party ring a bell? As economist Paul Krugman said recently in his column about this issue, “ideas matter.” He is right. But the solutions and ideas that he and his fellow egalitarians push continue to fail and cause misery. Upward mobility isn’t the job of government; it’s the job of the individual, our businesses and our communities.

Andrew Biar is president of Strategic Public Affairs, a Houston-based full-service firm that provides stratgic advice and counsel to small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, trade associations and PACs. His email is andrew.biar@strategicpublicaffairs.com.